Coptic Apocalypse of Paul

thumb|right|Codex V of the Nag Hammadi library, p. 17, featuring the start of the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul. The page is damaged and parts are unreadable. The Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, also known as the Revelation of Paul, is a Gnostic apocalyptic text. It was originally written in Koine Greek, but the surviving manuscript is a Coptic language translation. It is the second of five treatises in Codex V of the Nag Hammadi library texts. Quotes Kaler Michael Flora Tells a Story: The Apocalypse of Paul and Its Contexts 2008 Wilfrid Laurier University Press 978-1-55458-282-2 The little child spoke up, saying, “I know who you are, Paul: you are the one who was blessed from his mother’s womb. I saw that you were on your way up to Jerusalem, to your fellow apostles, and it is because of this that I was sent to you. I am the Spirit, who is with you. ... It is to the twelve apostles that you are going, for they are elect spirits, and they will greet you.” ... and he saw the twelve apostles at his right and at his left in the creation, and the Spirit was going before them. Then as I went, the gate opened and I went up to the fifth heaven. And I saw my fellow apostles going with me while the Spirit was going about with us. And I saw a great angel in the fifth heaven, holding an iron rod in his hand, three other angels with him. And I gazed at their faces. They were quarrelling with one another, with whips in their hands, goading the souls on to the judgement. But as for me, I was going with the Spirit, and the door opened for me. I saw an old man ... the light ... white ... in the seventh heaven, shining seven times more than the sun. The old man spoke, saying to me, “Where are you going, Paul, the blessed one who was set apart from his mother’s womb?” But as for me, I looked to the Spirit, and it was nodding its head, telling me to speak with him. And I spoke up, saying to the old man, “I am going to the place from which I came.” And then the seventh heaven opened and we went up to the Ogdoad. I saw the twelve apostles. They greeted me, and we went up to the ninth heaven. I greeted everyone in the ninth heaven. And we went up to the tenth heaven. And I greeted my fellow spirits. See also Nag Hammadi library Ginza Rba External links The Apocalypse of Paul, text of the translation of George W. MacRae and William R. Murdock, at The Gnostic Society Library Category:Gnostic texts Category:Christianity in Egypt